Post-Op Day 5

Not much has changed today.  I do think there was a small improvement, overall.  Let's see...

• They did a two-hour trach collar trial today.  She was on CPAP with pressure support for more than 24 hours.  So, they took her off and let her be on just the trach collar (letting her do all the breathing on her own) for two hours.  Then they put her back on CPAP with pressure support again, and will leave her on it overnight. 
• She has two chest tubes that were draining into the same container.  They separated them so that they drain into two separate containers.  I guess they want to see if one side drains more than the other.  Personally, I don't see where it matters, as I believe the drains are coming from her chest cavity, and isn't there only one of those?  But, I wasn't part of the discussion to do that so I didn't get to hear the reasons why they thought it was worth doing.  And it doesn't bother her at all, so I suppose it's fine either way.  She's still draining a lot. 
• She pooped.  So that's great.  Her belly looks much better and I am sure she must be way more comfortable. 
• She's still febrile and the cooling pad turns on/off all day.  I noticed that she would shake/shiver periodically.  So, they turned it off for a little while.  We'll see how that goes.
• She must be feeling a little better because she's been watching movies all day.  Of course, she's laying down to the side so she's not looking at the tv straight.  I don't know how she can watch it like that, but she doesn't seem to care or want to move, so I'm letting her be. 
• Her white blood cell count was 26 this morning, down from 29 yesterday.  So, that's good. 
• They took her off Vancomyacin today and put her on Bactrim (I think).  So they must have gotten some information from her cultures.  But, I haven't seen a doc today, so I haven't heard the details. 

Overall, I do think she must be less miserable than yesterday.  She refuses to sit up and is still not interactive or communicative at all.  Although she did actually pick a movie from two choices, so that's an improvement. 

Oh, and they moved her into a private room today.  I asked why (I didn't ask for one) and they said that since she has a parent bedside, and she needs to get some rest (which is even harder with three of everything buzzing all night) and the little babies don't care if they are in a private room or not it just seemed right to move her.  The only negative to the private room is that it is a long and narrow space, so the chairs are behind the patient's bed, so she can't see me when I'm sitting.  Other than that, it's fine.  Although, I must admit, I miss the banter between the nurses and, well, me.  But, I'll survive.  If it's what Harlie needs to get some good rest, then it is a good thing.  And she's been awake most of the day (another sign that she must be feeling a little better) so hopefully that means she'll sleep good tonight and then get on a normal sleep pattern. 

Her nurse last night gave her a bath and then they braided her hair.  I love it when they do stuff like that.  It's so darn sweet. 

Well, that's it.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring even more progress.  Thank you, as always for all your thoughts, prayers, comments and messages.  You are wonderful readers! 
~Christy